Vinson Raleigh "Bud" Simpson, Jr., former owner of Marion Body Works, died at his home in Green Valley, AZ, on Jan. 1, after a short illness. He was 89.
Simpson was the third owner of the Marion Body Works since it was founded in 1905 in Marion, WI. Members of his family continue to own and operate the company that started in a blacksmith shop building horse-drawn carriages. Today, it is a leading manufacturer of high-quality all-aluminum rescue apparatus and pumpers with capacities to build aerial trucks and specialized vehicles.
Simpson bought Marion Body Works in October 1980 after he left his job as president and a director of Marathon Electric Manufacturing Corp. in Wausau, WI, from 1976 to 1980. Previously, he had worked for Trane Company in LaCrosse, WI, where he started his career in 1950 and rose through the ranks to become president and a member of the board of directors.
“I started at the very bottom and work my way up,” Simpson said in an October 1998 interview.
After years of working in corporate America, Simpson decided to look for a business where he could be his own chairman and own it 100 percent.
He looked for businesses within an hour of Wausau, WI, where he and his family lived. He was looking for a manufacturing business that offered engineered products, a place where he could use the engineering degree he earned at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After sending out more than 120 letters, he found Marion Body Works.
“The company was for sale and it was something I could afford,” Simpson said in the 1998 interview. “It was something I could buy and own myself. It ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Marion Body Works had evolved into a business that produced commercial truck bodies, truck cabs, emergency vehicles and specialty military vehicles.
In the mid-1960s, Marion developed a niche in all-aluminum fire bodies and by the early 1980s, at Simpson’s direction, the company discontinued its steel fire apparatus line entirely. Simpson did his thesis at MIT on galvanic corrosion, so he knew a bit about building bodies with aluminum. He used his expertise and introduced mylar tapes, nylon bushings and other isolating mediums to prevent corrosion on the products his company built.
For the first eight years of his ownership, Simpson ran the business. He was then joined by his late son Jim Simpson who became president and chief executive officer in charge of sales, marketing and finances. His son-in-law, Curt Ignacio also joined the business as the company’s chief operating officer.
Simpson was the third owner of the company and was proud of the fact that he was able to grow the business exponentially under his leadership.
“None of that was through acquisition,” Simpson said. “That’s all pure internal growth. When a business gets larger by buying other businesses, it’s not true growth. It’s just two businesses stuck together. What we’ve experienced is major, major growth.”
Since Simpson purchased Marion Body Works, the business has grown-20 fold under his leadership until 2003 when he retired and Marion continued under the direction of his family members. The company has diversified into five distinct markets and has sustained the business into Marion’s 113th year of continuous operation.
The Marion product is in every state and scattered around the world as the company’s Defense products support the nation’s warfighters and Allies.
Simpson built a reputation for making high-quality aluminum rescue trucks which evolved into pumpers and later aerials as well as other specialty vehicles.
The business grew by Simpson focusing on what he called the company’s biggest asset – its work force.
“Companies are made up of people,” Simpson said. “Many of the practices and things we do focus on people.”
Simpson was known for starting the work week on Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for a general briefing. The meeting included about 40 people and started with silent prayer and moved through company performance and forecasting and planning for the ensuing week.
Simpson also had the philosophy that he instilled in his staff to “build it right the first time.” He believed that fire departments deserved the best money could buy after working hard at chicken suppers and raffles to earn the cash.
According to his obituary, Bud Simpson also earned an MBA from Indiana University in 1955 and had served his country as an officer with Strategic Air Command of the U.S. Air Force earning the United Nations Ribbon, the Korean War Ribbon and the Commendation Medal.
Simpson was also active in civic organizations in his former home of Clintonville, WI, including church activities, Rotary International, American Legion as well as a number of industry and nonprofit boards.
He is survived by his wife Brenda Hait, a daughter and two sons, a step-daughter and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings and nieces and nephews.
Visitation from 9-11 will precede an 11:00 service, Friday, Jan. 12, at Christ Congregational Church, Clintonville, WI. Lunch will follow at Northwinds Banquet Hall, Marion, WI. A service was also held Jan. 5, at Valley Presbyterian Church, Green Valley, AZ.
